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Make a Presentation Like Al Gore

From Wired How-To Wiki

Slide show presentations are taking the world or, at least the box office, by storm. Al Gore's global warming presentation, featured in the movie An Inconvenient Truth, is probably the most successful ever produced. Since its release, the movie has strengthened the world-wide movement to prevent global warming, won two academy awards and helped Gore win a Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.

The movie is also an example of how effective a slide show presentation can be. Presentations are a powerful way to get your message across both verbally and visually.

Determining what your audience needs from you and what you need them to do should influence all design decisions.

Know When to Use a slide show

Is your message best served by a slide show presentation or a document? Mr. Gore’s content and delivery were timely and powerful – and his visuals supported his message with rich meaning, instead of being distracting. There isn’t anything wrong with using documents as a presentation tool. However, instead of reading through it together, distribute it to be read then book a meeting to discuss the contents of it.

Memorize the Message

It is almost always obvious when a presenter isn't prepared. A slide show’s impact is only as powerful as the skills of the presenter and how deeply the message resonates with the audience. If a presenter has genuinely internalized the key messages and is supported by visual themes and emotional evidence, it can be both cinematic and interactive.

Keep Your Face to the Audience

Presentations work best when the presenter uses it as a mnemonic device to help the audience remember a message. The message suffers when its used as a crutch for the presenter. Nobody wants to see the back of a presenter and nobody wants to watch someone read a list of bullet points from a slide. When they do, it makes the presenter look lazy and distills the emotional message.

Use Type Over 24pt

It is easy to fall into writing paragraphs in slides. Your message should come across like a headline, not a sentence.

Use High Quality Images

Clip-art can make a presentation look cheap. Your audience may take you less seriously. In the end, it may distract people from the emotion behind the point you are trying to make.

Pay Attention to Image Rights

Make sure everything you use is licensed appropriately. If you find images or movies on the web, develop an agreement with the owner to use it. Or if you want a video clip from a TV show, call the studio and license it.

Choose the Right Tools

There are two primary presentation tools: Apple's Keynote and Microsoft's PowerPoint. PowerPoint has stronger animation features, whereas Keynote typically handles video and Flash better.if we Convert PowerPoint to video in all popular video and audio formats,PowerPoint Video Converter is helpful.

There are also lots of developments happening in the online application space. Google Docs, Slide Rocket, 280Slides and others are developing rich web-based presentation applications so multiple people can collaborate to build a presentation online.

Another phenomenon occurring is in the social networking space. Slideshare.net has become the YouTube for presentations. Some presentations have been viewed over a half million times.

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